The EU strategy for gas security: Threats, vulnerabilities and processes

This article introduces a novel processual and trans-sectoral concept of gas security where security is perceived as being determined by a dynamic interplay of certain processes that work across energy, economic, natural environment, societal and political sectors. These theoretical perspectives permit a detailed and rigorous content analysis of EU strategy for gas security where thematic-network analysis proves to be exceptionally productive. This article identifies five overarching features of the EU strategy for gas security: interconnectedness, interoperability, coordination, protection, and moderation. Vulnerabilities and threats to EU gas security are discussed and addressed for each of these. Processes and measures, considered essential to withstanding these identified threats and vulnerabilities, are examined for each feature as well. A process-oriented model for European gas security that reflects the logic of the EU strategy is generated by the analysis. This model is built upon the logic guiding the relations of subordination and how the identified processes are integrated with each other.